The present invention relates to a storage box and a lock device therefor, which storage box can thereby be used for storing objects whose accessibility requires to be restricted. This may apply, for example, to storage of medicines and chemicals, which have to be kept inaccessible to children. At the same time objects in the storage box can be placed together in a suitable storage location, for example in a refrigerator, a dark room or the like.
It is a well-known problem in the home, at the place of work or in an institution that there are some objects which ought to be stored separately in a location suited to the purpose and preferably with restricted accessibility while at the same time it may be important to retrieve them quickly. This is often solved by attempting to conceal the objects concerned, or attempting to restrict their accessibility by placing them in a location where they are not accessible to everyone, preferably a location where an effort has to be made to get hold of them. Some objects, such as medicines and chemicals, however, often need special treatment and storage, since they may be particularly light-sensitive or require to be stored in a cold environment. It is therefore not very practical and often ill-advised to choose a storage place based only on considerations of storage environment or accessibility as this may have unfortunate consequences. A medicine container which has to be kept cold is naturally placed in a refrigerator or the like. Such a location, however, is accessible to most people and children, for example, also have access to a refrigerator and other cold rooms. It is a highly unfortunate combination to have medicines or chemicals accessible to children, and particularly in a storage place where children expect to find food or other harmless substances which can be eaten or drunk.
Thus in the storage of medicines and chemicals there is already a conflict at a basic level between the requirements which have to be taken into consideration with regard to the characteristics of the storage place, and at the same time requirements regarding safety and accessibility for those who are present.
Another well-known problem is how to to keep different substances in their proper place simultaneously, such as, for example, medicines, since they often come in small amounts and may be vital for a user who has to find them at short notice. This makes it necessary for such substances to be stored in a place suited to the purpose, in a manner which makes them easy to find and preferably in a specifically organized system. If the previously mentioned conditions with regard to restricted accessibility and requirements as to a suitable storage place are to be fulfilled, the result will often be that an arbitrary and unsuitable location is chosen for reasons of ease of retrieval. Here too parallels can be drawn with the example of storage of medicines in a refrigerator or in another cold place, where several different people usually avail themselves of the contents. This applies not only in connection with families, but also in companies, institutions and the like where there is common storage of, for example, food and drink in a refrigerator or in other suitable places. It is obvious that the more people who are involved in helping themselves to the contents, as well as replenishing the contents of such a place, the more difficult it is to ensure ease of retrieval for individuals, and particularly in the case of small items which are stored together with a large amount of other substances.
There are therefore three different requirements which have to be considered when storing, for example, medicines. They should be stored in a place suited to the purpose, they should be stored with suitable, preferably restricted accessibility, and they should be stored in a manner which ensures ease of retrieval within a desired time frame. This may apply, e.g., to the storage of medicines in a refrigerator where they are placed together with other foodstuffs and where there is a great risk that, e.g., children, weak-sighted or senile people may make a mistake about the contents of the refrigerator and help themselves to medicines instead of other substances in the refrigerator, or take the wrong medicine belonging to another person.
In previously known solutions for meeting these requirements and overcoming the above-mentioned problems, the usual method has been to collect the substances concerned in a separate area of, e.g., the refrigerator. This improves ease of retrieval, and if the area of the refrigerator in which this is stored is of such a nature that it can be closed or concealed, a restricted or controlled accessibility is thereby achieved. However, it is not possible to mark such a place in a suitable manner if it is a part of the natural refrigerator fittings or is simply only an xe2x80x9cappointedxe2x80x9d place in the refrigerator where it is agreed that such substances should be stored. Another solution for restricting accessibility is to store the individual medicine or the like in a container which is equipped by the medicine producer with an accessibility restricting means, for example in the form of a lid or the like which has to be handled in a special way in order to be opened. In this case, however, a situation is achieved where each individual medicine is stored in separate units, which have to be located separately in a suitable storage place. This can result in medicines being put in the wrong place or removed by mistake, thereby reducing the ease of retrieval, which may be a critical factor for persons whose lives are dependent on certain medicines.
Thus it is the object of the present invention to provide a storage box which meets the above-mentioned requirements, and which overcomes the above-mentioned problems. The box according to the invention ensures that those substances which require to be stored are kept collectively in a manner which permits them to be placed together in a suitable location, for example in a refrigerator, in addition to which the storage box can be provided with a lock mechanism which permits particularly restricted access to the contents thereof.
The inventive concept in the present invention further comprises a lock device which forms part of a preferred embodiment of the lock device which is employed in connection with the said storage box.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and of the scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.